B00CO8L910 EBOK (35 page)

“Kindly unhand my daughter, sir,” Mr. Bennet said sternly.

Although embarrassed, Elizabeth could see the gleam in her father’s eye, indicating he was not really as upset as he appeared. Nevertheless, Mr. Darcy quickly stepped back from her, looking sheepishly at her father.

“I assume, sir, that you have some business you would like to discuss with me in my study?” Mr. Bennet asked in a firm voice.

Mr. Darcy, decidedly alarmed and already chastising himself for placing Elizabeth in such an indelicate situation, nodded his head. “Yes, sir, I do.”

“Very good, sir. I will see you in my study shortly. You may go and wait for me there.”

Darcy nodded, and as he bent to kiss Elizabeth’s hand properly, he was waylaid when Mr. Bennet cleared his throat again. The master of Pemberley winced and looked at his intended with embarrassment as he was forced simply to bow over her hand. Elizabeth could not help winking and encouraging him with her smiles when their eyes met. Darcy then straightened to his full height and left the garden, walking directly to the house.

When Darcy was sufficiently out of hearing, Mr. Bennet said to his daughter, “I assume then that you have managed to work through your misunderstanding with the gentleman, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yes, Papa, I believe we have.”

“I would hope so after what I have witnessed!”

Elizabeth had the good sense to blush. “Do not be too hard on him, Papa. I know you are not as angry as you wish for him to think.”

Mr. Bennet laughed as he took the seat next to his daughter and rested a hand on her knee. “Yes, but a father’s job is to intimidate into better behavior the gentlemen who wish to court his daughters.”

“He does not wish only to court me, Papa. He asked me to marry him.”

“I am glad to hear it, my dear, after that kiss, but you are wrong about one thing.”

“What is that?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes twinkling and her face smiling at her father.

“When I am through speaking to him, Lizzy, he will understand it is his responsibility to court you for the rest of his life, even after the ceremony.” Mr. Bennet thought about his own marriage and wished, for a moment, that he had made the effort to always court his dear wife. Brushing aside his regret, he patted his daughter’s leg. “I suppose I ought to go see the gentleman. Do you think I have left him long enough?”

Elizabeth laughed and pushed her father’s shoulder. “Go, Papa, and be kind to him. I love him so. And it would be to your advantage to be on his good side.”

Mr. Bennet raised his eyebrows. “Oh, and why is that?”

“Because I have seen both his libraries in London and at Pemberley, Papa.”

Interested and amused, Mr. Bennet said, “Ahh, and are they very grand, Lizzy?”

“A more exquisite sight you will not see,” she assured him.

Mr. Bennet looked at his daughter, seeing the light in her eyes, the love and happiness glowing from her. After all the sorrows of losing Lydia and then to see how downtrodden Elizabeth had been the past few days when Mr. Darcy left, he was now pleased to see her happiness was complete. She looked radiant, and fatherly pride welled up inside his chest. He did not think all the libraries in England could rival the beauty he saw displayed on her face.

“Well then, let me not delay further!” he teased as he stood up. Mr. Bennet turned and offered his hand to his daughter and assisted her to stand. “Perhaps you ought to fix your hair, dear, before coming back into the house. We would not wish to give your mother a fit of nerves.”

Elizabeth reached up to feel that a few of her pins had come undone. She blushed deep red then and heard him chuckle at his little joke. “Do not tarry too long. I suspect your Mr. Darcy will wish to bid you good-bye after our interview.”

“Yes, Papa.”

Chapter 21

By the time Elizabeth finally made her way back into the house, her siblings and mother were in near hysterics. Their excitement was uncontained, and Elizabeth could no longer feign her own composure. She shared the happy news, confident in her father’s blessing. Wishing to see Mr. Darcy again, she excused herself from her family to wait for him outside her father’s study.

As the time passed though, she found the waiting worrisome. Certainly, her father would grant his blessing. Even so, she did not anticipate the process taking so long, and she became uneasy. When her father opened the door, she immediately rushed past him to her intended — her impatience giving her father much amusement.

“Come, Lizzy, I left him in once piece — no need to fret. Shall we go and tell your mother the happy news?”

“I already have, Papa,” Elizabeth said to her father, keeping her eyes fixed on Darcy.

Darcy was feeling a mix of relief and joy, perhaps the former still taking precedence after his interview with Elizabeth’s father. Mr. Bennet had not been hard on him, but Darcy had no practice in asking a father for his daughter’s hand. He found himself the object of her father’s mirth when, in his nervousness, he nearly repeated his practiced proposal to him! The only difference being that Mr. Bennet was not his charming daughter, and therefore, Darcy could not maintain his good humor on being laughed at a second time in one evening.

Eventually, however, the older man granted him his blessing only after ensuring a promise from Darcy that he would always endeavor to please Elizabeth as much as he aimed to now. That was an easy promise for Darcy to make as he had intended to spend the rest of his life making sure his wife was happy.

“I should like to greet my new sisters and mother, Elizabeth,” he said with a slight smile.

Elizabeth raised her brows in surprise but nodded and boldly took his hand in hers to lead him back to the parlor. Darcy colored when he looked to see that, indeed, Mr. Bennet had seen her actions. Their visit in the parlor consisted of many well wishes and congratulations. Darcy bore the attention well with the help of the comforting grasp of Elizabeth’s hand. When the matter of a wedding date arose and Mrs. Bennet began speaking of dates several months into the future, Darcy had to intervene.

Darcy insisted on no more than two weeks, ignoring the raised brows of his intended’s father. Elizabeth smiled at her betrothed and seconded his wish for a short engagement. Mrs. Bennet at first wanted more time than she could get, of course, but at length was reduced to be reasonable. The date was set for two weeks hence.

When it came time for Darcy to take his leave, Elizabeth walked him out. “Fitzwilliam, what about your Aunt Catherine? I cannot imagine she will be happy to hear of our engagement.”

Darcy placed a finger under her chin and raised her face to look at him. “Do not worry, my dear. She is no obstacle to us. I already have a plan.”

* * *

When Jane and Bingley returned from their wedding trip, they were surprised to see Mr. Darcy at Netherfield. As Bingley’s particular friend, he was always welcome, of course. They were not home long before they became aware of his reason for being in the neighborhood.

Jane was in raptures for her sister and not at all surprised by the turn of events. She had been away since her wedding and was not even aware of her sister’s distress afterwards. Elizabeth and Darcy did not speak of it and allowed them to believe everything went as smoothly after their wedding as the groom and bride had assumed it would.

Jane happily accompanied Elizabeth on all her shopping and, to the relief of the engaged couple, often invited Elizabeth to take tea at Netherfield.

* * *

Anne sat in the large parlor with her mother when the post came and the footman handed her a letter from her cousin.

“Who is that from, Anne? I must know who sent you a letter,” her mother demanded.

Anne looked at the name on the letter and replied that it was from her cousin Fitzwilliam.

Lady Catherine beamed, highly gratified to see her nephew finally making steps towards his courtship with her daughter. “Well, what does he say, child? Open it, or better yet, give it to me, and I will read it. Your eyes are much too weak in this poor light.”

Anne pulled the letter to herself and surprised her mother when she refused to hand over the paper. Lady Catherine did not protest, happy to gloat over the fact that her nephew had written.

Anne puzzled over the letter as she opened it. Darcy was an inconstant writer with her; Georgiana was a more reliable correspondent. As she read through the missive, she began to smile. He was engaged to the amusing Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who had visited them at Easter. Anne and Darcy had long ago decided that they would not suit and would never marry. Only her mother wished for their union. Anne was happy for her cousin and determined to facilitate his request for help.

“Well, what does he write?” her mother demanded again.

Anne folded the missive and placed it in her pocket. “It is just a review of his life since he left in April, Mother.”

“That was kind of him. I told you, his attachment to Rosings increases.”

Anne excused herself from her mother to carry out her cousin’s tasks. She first spoke to the butler and requested that the London newspapers come to her first. The servants, who were endeared more to Miss de Bourgh than to their demanding mistress, complied readily. Next, Anne ordered her phaeton and ponies readied so she might go for a drive.

When she pulled up in front of the parsonage, Mr. Collins, pulling his wife along behind him, immediately exited his house and rushed to pay his respects to her. She expected this and thus began, “Mr. Collins, you ought not to keep your wife out in all this wind. Go now and retrieve her wrap.”

The unctuous parson bowed and apologized profusely, more to Anne than to his wife, and left the two ladies as he scurried back into the parsonage.

“Mrs. Collins, I wished to speak to you in private about a matter of some consequence.”

“Of course, Miss de Bourgh; speak freely.”

“I need your help, Mrs. Collins. If you have not heard already, you will soon that my cousin has recently become engaged to be married to your friend Miss Bennet.”

“Mr. Darcy!” Mrs. Collins beamed.

Anne smiled, sharing her neighbor’s excitement. “Yes. My cousin requested that we keep the news of his wedding a secret from my mother as he fears she may try to stop the wedding or insult Miss Bennet in some way.”

Charlotte nodded and, as she could hear her husband returning behind her, said quickly, “I will make sure to intercept any letters from home and the newspapers as well, so that my husband does not hear of the happy news either.”

“That is precisely what I would wish for,” Anne said with a grin.

Mr. Collins arrived then and hastily gave his wife the wrap before turning his attentions again to Miss de Bourgh. Before he could extol his usual reverence, she forestalled him by speaking.

“Mr. Collins, you have a lovely wife, and I have enjoyed visiting with her, but I must be on my way now. Thank you and good-bye.” Anne hastily left the man to shout out his praise to her back as she pulled forward in the phaeton and began her return to Rosings Park.

“My dear Charlotte, she pays you a great honor to stop in such a manner.”

“Yes, Mr. Collins. Shall we return to the house?” Charlotte was already walking towards her home, leaving Mr. Collins behind to watch until Miss de Bourgh was out of sight. She was happy for her friend and eager to watch for any letters from her.

* * *

When the day of the wedding arrived, it seemed that everyone except the bride and groom was nervous. They had endured enough strain in the times before their engagement, leaving them entirely content on the day of the wedding.

Elizabeth laughed at each of her sisters as they fretted over her dress, kissed her mother on the cheek when she fussed over her hair, and smiled at her father when he paced in the church’s vestibule before the service.

As the church bell rang, signaling the hour was at hand, Mr. Bennet took his daughter’s arm. “Well, Lizzy, it looks as if it is time. Do not worry, my dear; all will be well.”

Elizabeth breathed deeply, feeling that sentiment ring true throughout her body. She thanked her father and ushered him to the church doors. With a gentle press at his arm, she looked forward as the doors opened into the sanctuary.

As her eyes traveled down the aisle to her beloved Fitzwilliam, her lips drew up into a delighted smile. She saw herself run to him, wrap her arms around him and laugh as he kissed her eyelids while he swung her around. As she reached the front of the church, still on the arm of her father, she smiled at her daydream. Nevertheless, she was there, now standing happily beside her love.

Her eyes misted as she looked up into his and took his arm. He felt an overwhelming satisfaction realizing that forevermore her place would be at his side.

Luckily for both the bride and groom, the words the vicar had them repeat kept them present for enough of the ceremony to know their parts and not to drift into their own happy world, oblivious to the rest of the witnesses. The moment they were introduced to the assembled guests as Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy was perhaps the happiest either had experienced.

Mr. Darcy turned to his new wife as they walked down the aisle. With pride coloring his voice, he said, “Have I told you how fine you look today, Mrs. Darcy?”